Halachic Times

Ranges are 17 days, WED-FRI 9-25 Tishrei / Oct 8-24

Earliest Talit & T'filin 4:48-4:59am

Sunrise 5:38-5:50am

Sof Z'man K' Sh'ma 8:32-8:36am

(Magen Avraham: 7:47-7:51am)

Sof Z'man T'fila 9:30-9:31am

(Magen Avraham: 9:00-9:01am)

Chatzot 11:26Ω-11:23ºam

(halachic noon)

Mincha Gedola 11:57-11:54am

(earliest Mincha)

Plag Mincha 4:02º-3:47ºpm

Sunset 5:19-5:01pm

(based on sea level: 5:14-4:56pm)

It's about Time

The halachic times from page 2 are always given for a range of days which match the days "covered" by the issue of TT. Usually, the range is 10 days, since TT "hits the stands" on Wednesday and contains a schedule of activities at the Center that range from the day of issue through the following week until and including Friday.

This issue officially covers the days from Erev Yom Kippur through all of Sukkot until and including Friday, Erev Shabbat B'reishit. That's a range of 17 days.

Whatever the range, here is a guide for finding the zmanim between the days of the range.

Take the number of days in the range and subtract 1. For this TT, you get 16; for a regular issue, the number is 9. This number is the number of days "traveled" starting with the first day of the range (but not counting it) and ending with the last day of the range. In other words, a 17-day range has 16 intervals between days; a 10-day range has 9.

Now let's take sunset (counting elevation, that's the first range, not the one in parentheses) as an example.

The range is 5:19-5:01pm, which is a change of 18 minutes from one end of the range to the other. Dividing the 18 minutes by the 16 intervals, we get a bit over a minute an interval (7 seconds over, to be specific).

If we want to know sunset on Sunday, Oct 12th, we first count how many days after the beginning of the range our date is. It is 4 days, which means 4 minutes earlier than the given 5:19pm. That brings us to 5:14 -

A little rounding/padding is recommended, because the change from day to day in any zman is not the same. This method, known as interpolation, does consider the intervals to be the same, but the results are fairly close to the actual times.

Know also that some of the zmanim listed are rounded to the previous or the next whole minute, as the case may be, and this too will add a small inaccuracy - but the results will be accurate enough for their use, especially if you pad them (in the proper direction) with a minute or two.

General notes about the zmanim:

Notice that the times closer to the beginning or end of the day have greater range of time than the times closer to midday. For this TT's times, for example, the difference for Sof Zman T'fila is trivial. 9:30-9:31am. Inter- polation is not necessary and using 9:30am throughout the range of days is perfectly okay.

Chatzot and Plag are often given to the nearest quarter of a minute, rather than a whole minute, because sometimes padding should be before and sometimes after the particular zman.

Correct for TT 831

All times are Standard Time (a.k.a. Winter Time)

1 - 1st set of times - Yom kippur candles and havdala

2- Haazinu - candles and havdala

3- First day of Sukkot - candles and havdala

4 - Shabbat chol Hamoed - candles and havdala

5- Simchat Torah - candles and havdala

Jerusalem 4:39 5:50 4:37 5:48 4:33 5:45 4:28 5:40 4:25 5:37

Sderot 4:57 5:53 4:55 5:51 4:51 5:47 4:47 5:43 4:43 5:40

Gush Etzion 4:55 5:51 4:52 5:48 4:49 5:45 4:44 5:41 4:41 5:38

Raanana 4:56 5:52 4:53 5:49 4:50 5:46 4:45 5:42 4:42 5:38

Beit Shemesh 4:55 5:51 4:53 5:49 4:49 5:46 4:45 5:41 4:41 5:38

Rehovot 4:56 5:52 4:53 5:50 4:50 5:46 4:45 5:42 4:42 5:39

Netanya 4:55 5:52 4:53 5:49 4:49 5:46 4:45 5:41 4:41 5:38

Be'er Sheva 4:54 5:52 4:52 5:50 4:50 5:47 4:46 5:42 4:43 5:39

Modi'in 4:55 5:51 4:53 5:49 4:49 5:45 4:44 5:41 4:41 5:38

Petach Tikva 4:39 5:52 4:37 5:49 4:33 5:46 4:28 5:41 4:25 5:38

Maale Adumim 4:39 5:50 4:37 5:48 4:33 5:44 4:28 5:40 4:25 5:37

Ginot Shomron 4:55 5:51 4:52 5:49 4:49 5:45 4:44 5:41 4:41 5:37

K4 & Hevron 4:55 5:51 4:53 5:49 4:49 5:45 4:44 5:41 4:41 5:38

Giv'at Ze'ev 4:55 5:51 4:52 5:48 4:48 5:45 4:44 5:40 4:41 5:37

Yad Binyamin 4:56 5:52 4:54 5:50 4:50 5:46 4:45 5:42 4:42 5:39

Ashkelon 4:57 5:53 4:55 5:51 4:51 5:47 4:46 5:43 4:43 5:40

Tzfat 4:43 5:49 4:40 5:47 4:36 5:43 4:32 5:39 4:28 5:35

NOTES: See Pull-Outs for Candle lighting and Havdala details - here are some...

1 - See the Pull-Out for the page with Yom Kippur candle Lighting and Havdala review.

2 and 3 are regular Shabbatot, with regular candle lighting and havdala procedures. See Sukkot Candle Lighting Page in the Pull-Out for review of lighting in the Sukka for 4

3 and 5 Candle lighting for Yom Tov: Most people light at "candle lighting time"; some light upon return from shul. The "preferred" way to light is to say the brachot first and then light. When lighting at candle lighting time, a woman MAY follow the regular Shabbat candle lighting procedure of lighting first, covering the eyes, making the brachot, opening the eyes. If candles are lit after dark, the brachot definitely go first. When saying the brachot first, if a match is used to light the candles, it should be put down carefully and safely and allowed to go out on its own, since extinguishing fire is forbidden on Yom Tov. See Sukkot Candle Lighting Page in the Pull-Out for review of lighting in the Sukka for 3

3 and 5 Havdala for Yom Tov (when it is not also Motza"Sh) is without the introductory p'sukim, without spices, and without candle. WINE and HAVDALA brachot only.

See Havdala Page in the Pull-Out for review of havdala in the Sukka for 3 and 4

NOTES: Note about Candle Lighting and Havdala times. Candle lighting times are rounded down to the minute, in other words, seconds are ignored. Havdala times, on the other hand, are round up to the next minute.

Further explanations and notes on Z'manim are available on the website www.ou.org/torah/tt - click on Halachic times

* Important clarifications concerning the Candle Lighting times

Petach Tikva officially accepts upon itself to light Shabbat candles according to the Jerusalem custom. (This is due to the fact that the Ashkenazi community of PT was founded by people from Jerusalem who brought their customs with them.) Up until this week, we understood that to mean that in PT one lights candles 40 minutes before sunset, just like we do in Jerusalem. We contacted the Religious Council in PT and found out that the official candle lighting time for PT is the same as Jerusalem's (not 40 min. before sunset, but the same time as J'lem). Petach Tikvians (or whatever they are called) must realize that their sunset is earlier than Jerusalem's and therefore they do NOT have 40 minutes after the posted time until sunset - more like 30-35. So too for Maale Adumim. They light candles at the same time as J'lem too. Sunset is also earlier in Maalei Adumim.

One of the rabbis from Ascent of Safed (that's Tzfat) told us that there are differing opinions concerning when Candle Lighting is there. All say 30 min. before sunset, but some say the sunset that does not take into account the elevation of Tzfat, and some say to use the sunset time that does take elevation into account. We print the earlier time, in case.

Halachic Zmanim and Shabbat times in Torah Tidbits are calculated by CHAZON SHAMAYIM, a computer program by R' Eitan Zakuni of Netivot. The latest version (beta), called HAZON NET is available as a free download on www.sky-view.co.il

Explanation of the Z'manim

Jerusalem lights candles 40 minutes before sunset. (Except for those who don’t follow that custom.) Which sunset? Important question. The standard practice is to count 40 minutes before “sunset of elevation”. Jerusalem is a little over 800m above sea level. If one could see the sun set over a horizon at sea level (which can be done from some parts of J’lem), it would set about 5 minutes later than someone watching from sea level, or seeing the sun set beyond mountains that are approx. the same height as Jerusalem is. Since the sunset on the same plane is 5 minutes earlier, and for Shabbat purposes is the sunset we would have to consider because of the strictness of Shabbat, then J’lem candle lighting time is really only 35 minutes before “the other” sunset. All other places at some height above sea level have similar problems. Tzfat lights candles 30 minutes before sunset. Official candle lighting for Petach Tikva is 40 minutes before sunset, just like Jerusalem. Not everybody holds by that timing. Some communities calculate Shabbat out at 33 minutes after sunset. Some use the angle of the sun below the horizon to “end Shabbat” (8.5 deg). Bottom line for now: until we get the chart running smoothly, don’t rely on it exclusively. Cross-check times with calendars and charts. Please report discrepancies to us, so that we can improve our time table. Also realize that Sfardim and Ashkenazim often has differences in minhag.

Sunrise for Jerusalem does not take into account elevation, since the eastern horizon (where the sun rises) consists of the Hills of Moav across the Jordan River, which are approx. at the same elevation as Jerusalem

Sunset, on the other hand, is given for an elevation of 825m and, in parentheses, as if at sea level. There are different opinions as to which sunset time should be used for halachic purposes. We present both times.

The deadlines for the SH'MA and the Shacharit Amida can be calculated in two ways. Either considering the day to be from sunrise to sunset or from dawn to stars out. The first way of reckoning is known as the opinion of the GR"A, and is the first time given in each case. The second method is known as the Magen Avraham, and is presented in parentheses.

Aside from candle lighting and havdala, the times are presented as a range, from the current Thursday of the issue of Torah Tidbits until the coming Thursday, a span of 8 days. Days between the two Thursdays can be determined by interpolation (which means: a method by which to estimate a value of between two known values-this is something that people above a certain age might remember from high school trigonometry and logarithms, but younger people who went to school during the calculator era might not be familiar with).

It is usually wise to "pad" the times with a minute or two in the "play it safe" direction. E.g. Plag Mincha. Better to finish Mincha a minute or two before the given time. But, better to not light candles until a minute or two after the given time.